OOH must offer better visibility, greater coverage: Brand leaders

The panel discussion on'What will it take to draw more brands to Tamil Nadu' at the Tamil Nadu Talks OOH! Conference organised in Chennai on May 8 saw some very important issues being raised from the point of view of advertising brands. The moderator of the session, Shashi Sinha, VP, Laqshya Media, rightly put his concern that in today's modern urban lifestyle, home is just a residual destination. Life has become institution driven. For the whole day when one moves from destination to destination, transit or the outdoor becomes an integral part of his day. Going by this logic, the home medium like television and print should get weaker and weaker but its growing size and strength is not just a concern but also a challenge for the OOH industry

Tamil Nadu was one of the "happening markets” for OOH but over a period of time it is seen that this market has become stagnant. Emmanuel Joseph, Deputy Media Manager, FBD Division, ITC, clearly stated the valid reasons for the downswing. One being the” run of the mill approach” and other that the industry is not evolving. Currently, there are so many regional television channels that the market has become very competitive for OOH media. Lack of ideas or the zeal to materialise them has pushed Tamil Nadu OOH industry to the bottom, he reckoned. What it needs is a progressive approach is what Emmanuel said. He added, "The success of any OOH brand campaign is measured by the visibility and coverage across a region. There is also a dire need of metrics with which one can measure the media. This would also help both media owners and the brands to plan for a better reach. This requires a change in approach toward OOH industry from the side of brands, media planners and also the government.”

T Keerthi Vardhan Reddy, Head Brand - Mobile/DTH/Money - TN Circle, Bharti Airtel, pointed out that in the era pre-2008 period there were 9,000 large formats available compared to a mere 1,500+ now. Hence, monies budgeted for OOH spends are seen to be shifting to other mediums like print and television and the reason for this is the lack of opportunity or visibility for brands on Tamil Nadu's OOH landscape. High rates for OOH media was cited as another reason of brands not willing to opt for Tamil Nadu market. He focused on the point that if the OOH industry in Chennai and the rest of the state needs a revival they need to pay more attention to infrastructure as brands always try to avoid bad structures and bad mounting.

C Sarath Mohan, Manager- Branding, Jaypee Cement said that his company used to use more traditional OOH media but a steep rise in prices has made them look for other options. Unfortunately, there has not been any new medium that can deliver both brand value and public convenience. When it comes to OOH infrastructure, Chennai does not have much to boast about. Though the market has very high potential, brands seem to want more options to choose from.

The brand marketers felt that lack of enough large formats in the city limits the scope of OOH advertising. Reasonable media costs, improved monitoring systems, and a better mix of large and small formats will provide the impetus for OOH growth in the region.